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Tickets: $65, which includes 10 tasting tokens (additional tokens are available on site for $2 each) Seminars and restaurant tequila tasting menus are extra.

Information and tickets: vancouvertequilaexpo.com.

Was there ever so misunderstood a spirit as tequila?

“Everyone thinks tequila is to shoot, but it is not just to shoot,” says Manuel Otero, a member of the organizing committee for the inaugural Vancouver International Tequila Expo.

In fact, tequila is a complex and elegant spirit with a fascinating story.

It is one of the most historic spirits in the world, dating back to 16th century Mexico, when the Spanish conquistadors ran out of brandy and began distilling local agave plants. But its origins are even older than that since the Aztecs were drinking a fermented agave beverage called “pulque” for centuries before the Spanish arrived.

To make tequila, the “piña,” the pineapple-shaped core of the blue agave plant, is harvested, steamed or roasted, fermented and distilled. The best tequilas are made with 100-per-cent blue agave; cheaper and usually lower quality “mixtos” require only 51-per-cent agave distillate, which is blended with other base spirits.

The distillate is then often aged in oak barrels: reposado tequila is aged two to 12 months; añejo is aged one to three years; extra añejo is aged more than that.

Unaged tequila has a grassy, citrusy and sometimes peppery flavour that makes it a versatile component in cocktails. Aged tequila can have the sophistication and flavour, not to mention the price tag, of fine whisky or cognac.

Tequila, in short, is terrific.

But for so many of us, our first experience with tequila was not a good one. Chances are it was in college or on a bargain beach holiday where the tequila was cheap, the shots were many and the judgment was poor. And so the perception of tequila as a nasty, hangover-inducing spirit was born and, for many of us, lingers on.

That’s why Otero and his partners Eric Lorenz and Mirko Morhac decided that Vancouver needed an event to properly introduce the city to tequila. And so they created the Vancouver International Tequila Expo, which will take place next Saturday at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

“People are really excited about this because there’s never been anything like this before,” says Morhac. “People are really pleasantly surprised that someone is putting something on like this. People want to taste before they buy. This is an excellent opportunity to try before they pay.”

Some 60 different tequilas will be poured at the event, including high-end tequilas such as the Don Julio Real, which retails for $450.

Only 100 per cent agave tequilas will be poured at the expo this year: no mixtos, mezcals, tequila liqueurs, flavoured tequilas or tequila cocktails. Among them will be several exciting tequilas that are not available in Canada, but are hoping for representation here.

“We have done everything possible for bringing in product for tasting,” Lorenz says. “And that is a challenge.”

In fact, one of the goals of the show is to increase the selection of tequila in B.C. Only a handful of tequila brands are available here, compared to nearly 1,000 in Mexico, and tequila makes up only three per cent of the province’s spirits market.

“It’s a $20-million industry in B.C., but it should be so much more,” says Daryl Lamb, general manager of Legacy Liquor Store, one of the expo’s sponsors.

More than just tequila, the expo will be a showcase for Mexico, its food, its drink and its culture. And the organizers hope this year’s expo is just the first of many.

“We want this to be the ‘it’ tasting of tequila outside Mexico,” says Morhac. “We want this to be really big. This is not a one-time thing.”

Special to The Sun

Margarita

A proper margarita should always be made with 100-per-cent blue agave tequila, never cheap mixto, and it should always be made with fresh lime juice, never commercial sweet-and-sour or margarita mix. Get yourself a citrus squeezer (about $11 at Gourmet Warehouse) and juice your limes right before you use them — you’ll be amazed at the flavour difference.

1½ ounces (45 mL) agave tequila blanco

½ ounce (15 mL) triple sec

½ ounce (15 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice

Rim a rocks (old fashioned) or margarita glass with salt: run a lime wedge around all or half the rim, then dip it into a sauce of coarse salt. Place tequila, triple sec and lime juice into a cocktail shaker with ice; shake well, then strain into your preferred glass, adding a couple of ice cubes to the rocks glass if that’s the one you’re using. (And if you really must, you can also throw it all into a blender for a slushy version.)

Serves 1.

Note: Play with the proportions until you find the balance that suits you best — you might find you prefer the original 1-1-1 formula —1 ounce tequila (30 mL), 1 ounce (30 mL) triple sec, 1 ounce (30 mL) lime juice.

Options: If you’d prefer a slightly less boozy margarita, you can replace the triple sec with agave nectar, which is also sweeter yet lower in calories.

You can also add extra flavour by muddling a few blackberries, a couple of slices of jalapeno pepper or a chunk of fresh ginger root in the shaker before adding the rest of the ingredients.

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In Good Spirits: Tequila expo celebrates Mexico’s wild spirit

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